Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,947 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,754,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,822 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,023,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,554,000 after purchasing an additional 13,557 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $46,280,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.18 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.95 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.48.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The firm had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 63.41%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.